A Mother’s Tears: A Retreat Guide on Our Lady of Sorrows

A Mother's Tears | A Regnum Christi Retreat Guide on Our Lady of Sorrows with Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Nothing compares with what Mary had to go through during our Lord’s passion: She stood by, helpless, watching Jesus being condemned unjustly, mocked, scourged and tortured, crowned with thorns, and crucified. Could anything be more horrible for a mother than to witness that happening to her only son? Jesus, being God, could have preserved her from that. He could have brought her home to heaven before those events occurred, for Instance, as happened with St. Joseph. But he didn’t. Somehow, his love for his mother included allowing her to suffer, and to suffer deeply, painfully, terribly. Why? That’s what this Retreat Guide, A Mother’s Tears: A Retreat Guide on Our Lady of Sorrows, will delve into. In this Retreat Guide, A Mother’s Tears, we will reflect on this amazing gift.

  • In the meditations, we will reflect on the meaning behind the ancient liturgical celebration of Our Lady of Sorrows, which the Church commemorates every year on September 15th.
  • And in the conference, we will unpack the meaning behind the traditional Catholic practice of “offering up” our sufferings.

Video

Retreat Guides can be used alone – as a springboard for personal meditation – or with a group.

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How to Use A Retreat Guide

How to Use A Retreat Guide

Gather together, start with prayer, and then watch the Intro and First Meditation together. At the end of the First Meditation, spend 5 – 10 minutes in silent meditation/prayer with the reflection questions. Then watch the Second Meditation and have 5 – 10 minutes of silent time. Lastly, watch the Conference and use the meditation questions as the springboard for personal prayer or group discussion.

You can use this format to gather in person or virtually. If virtual, someone could run the videos (sharing their screen, e.g., using Zoom or any other video conference platform), pausing for silent reflection.

The Conferences (the last video of each Retreat Guide) are designed as stand-alone videos offering practical applications for living out the Retreat Guide theme. They always work well with the Meditations, but you could use the Conference separately for a shorter gathering to kick off a topic for discussion.

Seasonally, you may want to use a Retreat Guide at home or with a closer group of friends. For Advent or Lent, you could select one Retreat Guide a week, watch one video each night, and discuss it as a family.

These are just some suggestions. Feel free to experiment with a format that works best for your group. With almost 60 Retreat Guides, you have a great library of retreats to pick from. 

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!